Old Friends
by broomsticks1
Summary: The Doctor gets a call from an old friend, but returning a favor is never simple for the Doctor, and it could even prove fatal.


"If you could go anywhere at any time in the whole universe, where would it be?" The Doctor asked as he skipped around the TARDIS console.

"What do you recommend?" Clara asked.

The Doctor paused for a few seconds, and then he snapped his fingers. "The Eye of Orion! The most tranquil place in the universe! Of course, it didn't really end well the last time I was there."

As he was about to set the coordinates, the TARDIS phone rang. The Doctor groaned and picked it up. "Yes?" he asked exasperatedly. After a few minutes of "oh's" and "mm's," the Doctor replaced the phone.

"Who was that?" Clara asked.

"An old friend," the Doctor replied as he typed in a set of coordinates and pulled a lever. "He got me out a tight spot a while ago, and I owe him a favor. He's calling it in now."

"Who is he?"

"His name is Plutarch Heavensbee. He needs my help with some kind of rebellion. He'll explain when we get there."

When the TARDIS landed, the Doctor hurried over to the doors and threw them open. "Plutarch Heavensbee!" he shouted. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

A burly man with gray hair looked up from some papers spread out across a table. "Doctor!" he said happily. "You've changed!"

"It's been a while," the Doctor replied. "So what do you need me for?"

"Well, Doctor, we have a little problem," Plutarch began. "The figurehead for our rebellion is in an arena with some other allies, and somebody leaked our plans to get them out, so the Capitol's waiting for us, and I'm sure they'll be sending troops to take them. If I know the President at all, he'll want to kill them himself."

"And you want me to go down there and get them?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes. We'll be waiting nearby to take them."

"Sounds easy enough." The Doctor began to walk back to his TARDIS.

"Wait, Doctor. They have very sophisticated technology, so they'll know that you're there as soon as you've landed. There won't be any time to mess around."

"Even better," he grinned as he pulled Clara into the TARDIS.

* * *

When they landed, the Doctor and Clara stepped out of the TARDIS and into what looked like a huge jungle.

"We must have caught them off guard when we came in, but we'll have a lot more trouble getting out," the Doctor said, referring to the ease with which they were able to land.

"Where do we start?" Clara asked as she stared around at the seemingly infinite jungle surrounding them.

The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver, activated it, and began to brandish it around him.

"This way!" he exclaimed as he ran into the trees, still waving his sonic in front of him.

After several minutes, the Doctor and Clara came across a small group of people huddled around a tree.

"Do any of you know Plutarch Heavensbee?" the Doctor asked.

A young man with blonde hair nodded. He's supposed to get us out of here."

"Well, there's been a problem," the Doctor said. "Somebody leaked your plans to the Capitol, so they have ships and soldiers moving in to take all of you."

"So why are you here?"

"I'm here to save you and get you to the rescue ship."

"How are you going to do that?" the blonde boy asked.

"I have a ship," the Doctor replied.

"They're around here somewhere!" a voice shouted in the distance.

"Fantastic," the Doctor muttered.

"What're we going to do, Doctor?" Clara asked urgently. "They sounded pretty close."

The Doctor was pacing back and forth and muttering to himself. Suddenly, a look of horror spread across his face. "It's the only way," he muttered sadly.

"What do you mean?" Clara asked.

The Doctor rushed over to Clara, hugged her tightly, and kissed her on the forehead. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and the TARDIS key and pushed them into her hands. "Get everybody to the TARDIS and wait for me there," he said.

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm brilliant, remember?" the Doctor forced a laugh and sprinted into the jungle.

* * *

"Stop right there!" a man's deep voice boomed through the jungle.

The Doctor skidded to a halt and looked around. White uniforms were moving in on him from all sides, forming a large circle.

"I guess it's now or never," the Doctor muttered. He closed his eyes and concentrated with all of his being. Suddenly, his back arched and he screamed as a wave of pain shot through his body. He looked down at his hands and saw bright yellow wisps of smoke coming from them and dancing in front of his eyes.

"Put your hands up!" the voice shouted.

The Doctor doubled over and screamed in agony as a more intense pain tore through his body. The yellow smoke was getting thicker. Any time now. Suddenly, he exploded in brilliant yellow flames.

Clara and the tributes were standing around the TARDIS console room, anxiously awaiting the Doctor's return.

"Who are you guys?" the blonde-haired boy asked.

"I'm Clara, he's the Doctor," Clara replied absentmindedly. "You?"

"I'm Finnick, this is Beetee, and this is Katniss."

"Great," Clara replied, consumed with worry about the Doctor.

Just then, the TARDIS doors burst open and a man sprinted over to the console and pulled a lever.

"Doctor?" Clara asked slowly, looking at the tall man with short grey hair and a lined face.

"Were you expecting somebody else?" the Doctor asked. Immediately after saying this, he hurriedly ran a hand through his hair and heaved a sigh of relief. "Good. I'm not that one again," he muttered.

Suddenly, the TARDIS lurched violently. The Doctor grabbed the scanner and examined it closely. "Looks like they're going to put up a fight," he muttered as he reached over and flipped a couple of switches and pulled a lever.

"What happened to you, Doctor?" Clara asked.

"I'll explain later," the Doctor grunted, fully absorbed in getting them out of the Capitol safely.

There was a loud explosion outside and the TARDIS lurched again.

"Looks like they're _really_ putting up a fight!" the Doctor shouted as he ran around the TARDIS console flipping switches, pressing buttons, and pulling levers.

The Doctor hurriedly typed in a command and flipped a switch. He screamed in anger and brought his fist down on the console. "I forgot to rewire the Hostile Actions Defense System!" he shouted furiously.

He ran over to a control panel near the main console and typed in another command, flipped another switch, and pulled another lever. There were four explosions outside, and the Doctor laughed triumphantly when he looked at the scanner to see shrapnel falling to the ground.

"Now to get you back to Mr. Heavensbee," the Doctor said as he threw a lever and the TARDIS dematerialized.

* * *

Once the TARDIS landed, the Doctor walked around the console and went to press a button that wasn't there. "Hmm. Why did I ever get rid of that button? Opening the doors by hand gets old after a few hundred years," he muttered. "Go ahead. I'm right behind you," he told Clara.

Once Clara had led the tributes from the TARDIS, the Doctor began to walk around the console, closely examining each button, switch, and lever. Finally, he stopped and flipped a switch. Nothing happened. He laughed, ran around the console, and began hurriedly typing in a command. "That should do it," he muttered, and walked out of the TARDIS.

"Doctor!" Plutarch exclaimed, surprised. "You've changed again!"

The Doctor nodded. "Once again."

"Why?" Plutarch asked.

"I had to force a regeneration to buy us some times and hold the soldiers back."

"Where's Peeta?" Katniss asked from her chair on the other side of the small table they were all standing around.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at Plutarch, who looked around, surprised.

"Did you see a boy?" he asked the Doctor.

"I didn't know I was looking for one," the Doctor replied, stunned.

"He wasn't the objective," Haymitch spoke up.

Katniss was speechless.

"So if he's not here, then where is he?" the Doctor asked, struggling to keep his voice level.

"The Capitol most likely has him," Plutarch answered.

"Why didn't you tell me?" the Doctor asked furiously. "I could have saved him!"

"I didn't want you to go playing hero and jeopardize the whole operation!" Plutarch shot back.

"So you were willing to let him die just to uphold your precious operation?" the Doctor asked incredulously.

"There are casualties in war, Doctor!"

"This casualty could have been avoided!" the Doctor shouted, swatting a coffee mug off of the table in anger. The mug soared across the room and hit the far wall, shattering into millions of pieces. Clara was shocked. This was definitely a new Doctor.

"Why does it matter, Doctor? You have a time machine! You could just go back and get him!" Plutarch pointed out.

"No, I can't. I'd be breaking the fundamental laws of time!"

"You've never worried about rules before, so why start now?"

"Because, if I go back to save him, it could create a paradox that would destroy this rebellion before it even started," the Doctor snapped. "It's already happened. It's a fixed point. I can't meddle."

"You're literally a _Lord_ of _Time_," Plutarch persisted.

"Come with me." The Doctor grabbed Plutarch's hand and pulled him into the TARDIS, with Clara following them.

Plutarch looked around. "You've redecorated. The last time I was in here I could see the whole universe through your ceiling."

Once they were safely inside the TARDIS, the Doctor turned to Plutarch. "If I go back and save the boy, this rebellion will fail and all hell will break loose. I can't tell you how useful he'll be, but he'll save your lives. You can't tell anybody I've told you that. Period. Understand?"

"Not even Haymitch?"

"Not even Haymitch," the Doctor confirmed.

"Fine," Plutarch agreed. He extended his hand. "Nice to see you again, Doctor."

The Doctor grasped the outstretched hand. "Always a pleasure, Plutarch." As Plutarch opened the TARDIS doors to leave, the Doctor called," Leave it open, please!"

"How did you know what would happen, Doctor?" Clara asked.

The Doctor grinned and tapped his temple with his index finger. "It's all in here, Ms. Oswald."

"Will I ever get a straight answer out of you about anything?"

"If you're lucky," the Doctor laughed. "So I guess you'll be wanting to go home now?"

"Why?" Clara asked, stunned.

"Well, I've changed. I'm not "your" Doctor anymore."

"You're trying to get rid of me?"

"Not at all," the Doctor said quickly. "I'd love nothing more than you staying with me."

"I'm joking!" Clara laughed. "You couldn't get rid of me even if you wanted to."

"The Doctor smiled. "Then I believe I owe you a trip to the Eye of Orion?"

"I believe you do," Clara returned his smile.

"Off we go, then." The Doctor ran around the console to the switch he had programmed earlier, a look of painful anticipation on his face. He flipped it and the doors closed. The Doctor laughed with delight as the TARDIS dematerialized.

**Author's Note:**

**I wrote this a while ago, right after I saw Catching Fire. I just found it in my desk this morning, so I typed it up and posted it. I hadn't seen the Time of the Doctor yet, so that's why it isn't consistent. PLEASE REVIEW! Any criticism is welcome!**


End file.
